Investors Offer New Hope For The Marina Delray

DELRAY BEACH -- For 40 years, the Marina Delray hotel and restaurant has sat on the Intracoastal Waterway, a reminder of the city`s days as a popular resort town.

But these days, the Marina Delray is known to residents and city officials as more of a nuisance than a landmark.

For the past five years, the small hotel and restaurant at 244 Venetian Drive has been the center of a nightmarish legal battle between the city; Southeast Bank, the mortgage holder; and the former operators, who filed for bankruptcy in February 1985.

The restaurant at the Marina Delray was closed in April after health inspectors found, among other health code violations, that the kitchen was infested with cockroaches.

And those who live near the Marina Delray say the hotel has been an unwanted neighbor for the past 10 years. It is a noisy intruder in an otherwise quiet neighborhood.

``It`s been a disaster in that residential neighborhood,`` said Beach Property Owners Association spokeswoman Betty Matthews. ``And I don`t see any of that changing.``

But a group of New Jersey investors, led by restaurateur William West, has offered the city a proposal that could take the Marina Delray out of court put it back in business as a private club.

West wants to purchase the hotel and transform it into an ``upscale private club with limited membership.`` Under the right circumstances, officials said, a club could tone down activity at the hotel, which might satisfy neighbors. It also could save the city thousands of dollars in legal fees.

``That`s a possible resolution of the lawsuit,`` City Attorney Herb Thiele said. ``The council could drop the suit right now, and it would be allowed to remain open. And we could make such a club a condition of the agreement to drop the suit.``

The marina was placed in receivership after its operator, Booi Services Inc., and owner, Berkley Multi-Units Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Tampa in February 1985. Booi and Berkley were affiliated with State Capital Corp., which state investigators say was the lead corporation in a $41 million mortgage scam.

City officials have claimed in lawsuits against Booi and Berkley that the hotel should be permanently closed, because it no longer complies with the city`s zoning code. But officials admit proving that would be costly.

``I really could assign a lawyer in my office to handle this case exclusively for the next six months,`` Thiele said.

The 36-room hotel is on land zoned for residential use. The code says that such non-conforming businesses cannot close for more than 180 days or they will lose their commercial designations.

The city claims in its lawsuit against Berkley Multi-Units and Booi Services that on two occasions -- April to October 1982 and January to June 1983 -- the restaurant and hotel were closed. Residents also say it was closed at that time.

``It really lost its zoning years ago,`` Matthews said. ``There`s no question about it.``

Lawyers for Booi have submitted receipts and menus to prove the business was open. But Thiele said it would take hundreds of hours to track down former employees, take depositions and compile other evidence to argue the city`s case.

And West said it would be difficult to close the Marina, because it had been allowed to operate for several years after the city claims it had been closed for 180 days.

``It`s going to be a big court fight,`` West said. ``And I think it would be difficult to close it after it`s been allowed to operate for who knows how long.``

West said he will announce plans in a few weeks that he hopes will convince the council to allow him to open his club. West said he will remodel the kitchen at a cost of $300,000. He has renovated the hotel lobby. He plans extensive renovations to the exterior of the building. And he intends to remodel the 36 rooms into 16 suites.

``It`s going to be a lot better than having a public restaurant and bar here,`` West said.

The City Council said it would consider the proposal and has ordered Thiele to ease off pursuing the lawsuit until a decision is made on whether the club should be allowed. Council members want specifics, including the hours, the membership limits and qualifications.

``It depends on what they mean by a club,`` Mayor Doak Campbell said. ``If they just charge a 25 cents membership fee, it won`t mean much. A club can be anything from a gentlemanly yachtsman`s group to a topless nightclub. But a quiet luncheon club for professional ladies and gentlemen may be appropriate.``

Matthews, whose homeowners association has opposed the marina, said she will urge the council to reject the proposal and continue efforts to close it for good.

``We`ve been fighting this operation and the abuse of the neighborhood and the right of peace and quiet,`` Matthews said. ``And we`re not about to give up now.